Coroner: Flint Creek drowning victim was intoxicated

A man who drowned at Flint Creek Water Park Saturday afternoon was severely intoxicated at the time of his death, according to the Stone County Coroner's Office. The initial toxicology reports show Facundo Rivera's blood alcohol content level was more than twice the legal limit for driving.

Authorities said Rivera was last seen around 3pm not far from shore in an inflatable lounge chair float. It's believed he fell asleep, then got off the float in water that was six feet deep.

His friends weren't sure if he could swim or not, but said they didn't think he suffered from any medical problems. When they discovered the empty float, they started searching for their missing friend.

The Gulfport Fire Department's Dive Rescue Team was eventually called to the scene. Divers located Rivera's body rather quickly in the area where he was last seen.

Officials said Rivera had been in the US since 2009, working for a local seafood company on the coast, and lately for himself in the lawn care industry. He had no immediate family in the US, so officials with the Mexican Consulate in New Orleans were notified to reach his family in Mexico.

This is the first fatal accident reported at Flint Creek Water Park in several years.